Originally Posted by http://bb.nightskylive.net/asterisk/viewtopic.php?t=291&start=193

I think it is fair to conclude that the object seen was the fuel dump of the AMC-16 rocket launch. Since the trajectory matches there is really no other explanation. This fuel dump was unexpectedly bright -- one of the brightest yet recorded. I am therefore closing this topic. I would like to thank the APOD community for figuring out yet another astronomical mystery.

If I did your homework for you, then you might pass your class without learning how to write a program like this. Then you might graduate and get your degree without learning how to write a program like this. You might become a professional programmer without knowing how to write a program like this. Someday you might work on a project with me without knowing how to write a program like this. Then I would have to do you serious bodily harm. - Jack Klein